Tony Suriano shares a technique for turning complaints into comedy: catch yourself complaining, exaggerate it into a silly catchphrase, and use the humor to flip your mood. He describes noticing his own irritation at the mall, then deliberately spinning it into a joke with his wife instead of staying stuck in negativity.
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My wife says this intro sounds like a conspiracy mystery, so I'm gonna cut the crap and tell you this show is for you if you felt like your life needs more direction, or you're just not having fun, or if you're a high performer like me and you love new perspectives and you always want to seek the next level. This is where we create your vision, break through your barriers, and find your magic. It is It's time for you to direct your life. How are you this Thursday? It's Thursday for me, and I decided to release weekly episodes on Monday via YouTube and the podcast, and Thursdays just audio only. So mark your calendars, tune on in, because it is Thursday, and on Thursdays I like to think, well, we're almost done with the week. And today on this episode, I want to talk about complaining. Are you a complainer? I know I grew up kind of being a complainer. Now, I had one thing going for me. I usually turned it into some kind of humor. Not all the time, but I was known to critique things a little exaggeration style, and I believe it served me a lot. And it allowed me to take some action when I complained, but also it allowed me to find some exaggerated humor I put into the scripts I've written. I'm a director and filmmaker, and I like to utilize the things I surround myself with and put them into my art form. So I have a question. Where have you complained this week? Because we're getting into Friday. Hey, if you're listening on a Monday, this works for you too. But we're closing the week and you have to think about your week as being productive, fun, and on track with where you want to go. Or unfortunately, you won't think about your week and you just stumble into it and you realize that it's just not going where you want it. So why go after anything you care about? But let's not make that happen. This week, today, I have a couple tools for you and some ideas that may help you. So I'll start with a little story here. I just got back from going to my favorite place, the mall. I joke. I do not like the mall. And I usually have some complaints when I go to the mall and I critique everything. If you walk with me in the mall, And I'm walking by some clothing, I'm gonna have a comment. I'm gonna— for instance, this lady was sitting on her phone with her boyfriend and he was on the phone. They weren't even looking at each other. I walked in, I'm like, man, she must have been passing out from the nail salon fumes. Because when I walked in that mall, the nail salon was just going crazy with fumes. I couldn't believe it. It should be illegal. And when I left the mall, she was still there, and it was like an hour later. Now, I was in the mall with my wife, and she loves the mall. She's from the Philippines. Their malls are a little more fun. Let's just put it that way. I've been there. I live. I've lived there, and this mall we went to, there was only one thing in mind to do. I was looking for a turtleneck, and I never go to the mall when I want to find clothing, but. We decided to go, and I tell you, man, I was starting to get irritated, but I caught myself, and I actually voiced it. I told my wife, I said, "Hey, Karen, I don't know. I just I apologize in advance. I'm getting a little irritated and impatient." But that was the key. I caught myself, and that's the reason I wanted to share this because if You just look out for yourself to complain or criticize and you catch it, that's awareness. And you can turn that, you can flip it. And it's a magical power when you catch yourself, because then, here it is, listen up, you can start making it exaggerated and be silly about it. So I caught myself complaining at the mall and I started to, make Karen laugh, luckily. And I could have went the other way, but I tried to make the most of it. And then the funny thing that happened is I was walking to the turtleneck section, if they had one, they didn't. I was walking around the jackets. I started looking and I started to appreciate the designs. And I'm like, okay, well, at least I could try to think of them as art. Hmm, okay. And then before you know it, my wife's like, hey, let's go. Let's just, they don't have anything here. Let's go. And I said, wait, whoa, I'm fine. I'm looking at stuff. And she's like, you said you don't wanna be here. And I was like, well, believe me, if I really didn't wanna be here, I wouldn't have dragged ourselves in here. So I started to enjoy it. I started to not only make the comments, but kind of admire some of the stuff. Now, I didn't buy anything. I didn't buy a single item. Some of those turtlenecks are overpriced, but I thought, Well, let's look, let's look. And then we left. And then we got some food. So the rhyme to this story is catch yourself and exaggerate it and use that as somewhat of a tool. And you could even come up with a catchphrase like, oh, well, I guess I'm Tony the Mall Critic now. Something silly, something dorky. So then you remember, okay, when I complain, Actually, there's a lighter side. There's a brighter side. And I just like that idea. So I want you to think about this week as an opportunity to catch yourself complain or criticize or gossip, anything that's just not empowering us. Let's flip it. And maybe you can have someone chuckle a little. Maybe you'd make yourself laugh. That's empowering to me. I think we need to laugh more. And I think this week could be about laughter. And if it is, I think it's a good week. So turn your complaints into comedy this week so your weekend will be more fun and easygoing. Because if you go into the weekend and you're stressed, how are you going to do the things you know you want to do for your life? Some of the goals you set, you're not going to want to do them. You're not going to be motivated if You're all stressed out and you're just dreading Monday? No, you gotta love the day, make it comedic, and just find ways to enjoy it. That's it. This is a short episode, but I plan to release these on Thursdays, audio only, just to keep us all on our toes and Remind myself as well as you that the week's not over. We have another day and we have another chance to get on track with our dreams, our goals, our relationships, our meditation, all the things we know that are good for us that we should do. Common sense, not so common practice. We all know the phrase. So I'm going to leave you with this. What Are you gonna make funny this week? And will you catch yourself if you go off track, a little negative, get a little complainy? Will ya? Please do that. And I'm gonna leave you with this. It is a quote I'm making up in real time. Life is a roller coaster. You go up and down. All around, but the uncertainty of it all is what excites us. So don't be set on things having to be the way you think they should. Be curious about what they could be. All right, that's it for now. Thanks for tuning in, and I look forward to the next one. Hey again, it's me, Tony. I hope you enjoyed the free show and I hope it served you. And if it did, please do me a little favor and give it a review, a like, and most importantly, share it with that someone that needs to hear the message today, because being the director of your own life involves contribution. So give it back and help others create their vision, break through their barriers, and find their magic too. And lastly, don't forget to check out my free weekly newsletter at TonySuriano.com. That's S-U-R-I-A-N-O. This is where I share exclusive tips, behind-the-scenes insights, and the kind of content I don't post anywhere else. If you're serious about leveling up and staying inspired, connecting with me, that's the place to be. Thank you once again. Now get out there and direct your life, or I'm gonna get you.
